FEEDING. 



CHAP. II. 



FEEDING. 



The best food foi* horses is oats and hay; but it is of importance 

 that such only should be given as are of the best quality. Oats 

 that are musty, or tliat have any degree of bad smell, are not 

 eaten with that relish that good sweet oats are ; therefore they 

 are not so perfectly digested, nor is the chyle that is formed from 

 them so pure; hence arise indigestion, foulness of blood, loose- 

 ness of the bowels, and general debility. This is more especially 

 the consequence when the hay also is bad. I have known a 

 serious loss sustained by a proprietor of post and coach horses, 

 from keeping a considerable stock of oats, and neglecting to turn 

 them. Many horses became glandered and farcied, apparently 

 in consequence of this circumstance. Beans, when broken or 

 bruised, may be an useful article of diet, joined with oats, for 

 horses whose work is constant and hard. I have been assured, 

 Iiowcver, by some experienced coach and post masters, that 

 during the hot summer months, it is better to discontinue the 

 beans.* Some horses, it is said, do not eat bruised oats with an 

 appetite ; in which case it is probable they do not digest them 

 quite so readily as those which are not bruised. And when we 

 consider that there is often a defect in the grinders, which causes 

 a horse to masticate slowly and imperfectly ; that horses have 

 sometimes a voracious appetite, and swallow a considerable part 

 of their corn without chewing it ; and as corn that is swallowed 

 unbroken is known to be indio-cstible ; the bruisiuo; of oats must 

 be considered as a matter of gi-eat importance, and may be the 

 means of saving a considerable quantity of that article.f Another 

 circumstance to be considered is, that when oats are taken into 

 the stomach unbroken, being indigestible, they cause a great deal 

 of useless exertion of the stomach in endeavourino; to dl2;est them. 

 This exertion is not only useless, but very injurious, gradually 

 weakening that important organ, and laying a foundation for 

 many diseases, especially that named flatulent colic, or gripes. 



It is generally thought, and I have been of the same opinion, 

 that chafl^ especially of clover, is an useful addition to oats, in 



* Many large horse proprietors give green food in the summer instead of 

 hay, in which case beans should be given to counteract the tendency the 

 grass may have to produce scouring. Most liorses eat green provender with 

 avidity; and if given with moderation, and with some portion of hay, it is 

 ibund very beneficial ; but if given too profusely, and particularly if just cut, 

 it is apt to produce flatulent colic. — En.] 



f Bruised oats are .apt to produce diarrhoea, particularly if the animal is 

 ■worked hard ; they should therefore be given with chafi'and beans. — Ed.] 



B 4 



